High Speed Rail Link
On 28th February, 2011, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that it was seeking consultation on its preferred route for a new high speed rail line from London to the West Midlands. Responses are required by 29th July, 2011.
In Buckinghamshire, the new line emerges from a tunnel west of Amersham. It runs adjacent to the A413 in a deep cutting through the Chiltern Hills to Wendover. It runs adjacent to the A413 Wendover bypass at ground level and then heads across farmland to pass to the south and west of Stoke Mandeville and Aylesbury. After crossing the A41, it passes to the north of Waddesdon. Just to the west of Quainton Station (now the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre), the new line joins the old Great Central Railway (GCR) line and continues towards Brackley where it crosses into Northamptonshire.Full details can be found on the DEFRA website "High Speed Rail: Investing in Britain's Future – Consultation".
The NBBG committee would like to encourage as many people in Buckinghamshire as possible to read the proposals and submit a response to the consultation.
NBBG Position Statement
North Bucks Bat Group supports any initiative that reduces the effects of human activity on wildlife and the natural environment. We are not yet convinced that the current proposals for the new High Speed Rail Link represent the best investment to reduce carbon emissions in the UK.
NBBG believes that the decision to proceed with or abandon plans for the new High Speed Rail Link will be made on national political or economic grounds and that wildlife issues will not be a significant factor in this decision.
If the Government is serious about its commitment to the natural environment and intends to comply fully with laws on protected species, the impacts created by HS2 on bat habitat must be compensated for to ensure that the habitat is reinstated to its original or better condition for the benefit of the local bat populations. NBBG will therefore work to ensure that adequate surveys are carried out prior to the commencement of work and that suitable compensation is provided within the detailed planning for the route.
Whilst NBBG's response will focus on bats, we will work with Bucks, Berks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) to provide a coordinated response to the consultation which takes into account all issues relating to wildlife, habitat and landscape conservation within Buckinghamshire likely to be affected by this national development.